Oh man you guys forgot Ukrops! And VCU has a different vibe from the rest of the city. I always see a house for sale near VCU on
Craigslist. I would not even worry about finding a place to stay, I know in my neighborhood there is at least two homes for rent and/or for sale. they are every where!
Like said earlier I think it would be kind of hard to find a (safe) place for that price. I'm not saying you can't, especially now that renting is so competitive but if you do I would ask on here first since you can't drive around the neighborhood yourself. Welcome to America! You won't be the only person from another country there.